To uncover answers to those questions, we went straight to the source. Against the backdrop of a turbulent period in Australian politics, Fairfax Regional Media asked readers how they felt about Australia and its future. The results were certainly a mixed bag.

INTERACTIVE:  View the full poll results here 

Only 35.8 per cent of survey respondents were confident Australia is still the lucky country and will remain so into the future. A similar percentage believed we are lucky now but won’t be in the future, while the remaining 27.3 per cent believed we've already lost our bragging rights to the title of the lucky country. 

Our survey respondents were very optimistic about the future of mining in Australia, evenly split on the future of farming and agriculture and overwhelmingly pessimistic about manufacturing's longevity. Only 17.9 per cent believed it has a strong future in Australia.

Most respondents also believed crime will worsen and that rural and regional towns and cities will deteriorate in the future. Most thought Australia won't be able to support a predicted population of 35.9 million by the year 2050.

More than 40 per cent were unsure whether Australia would be a better place after the election and few believed political discourse will improve after this election.

Health and the economy came out on top as the most-important issues readers want politicians to focus on.

MORE:  The unhappy country